CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Anti-G8 activists hit the streets across Canada on Wednesday to chant and bang drums in protest against the world's powerful leaders, who met far removed from any such distractions in a mountainside retreat.
In Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver, a colorful array of anti-globalization, human rights and environmental activists staged "snake marches," "die-ins," and even soccer games on downtown streets in demonstrations against the policies of the Group of Eight rich countries.
But there were few clashes with police, unlike similar events in recent years, such as last year's G8 summit in Genoa, Italy, where one protester was killed.
The main protest took place in Calgary, about 1-1/2 hour's drive from the mountain resort of Kananaskis, where U.S. president George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the other G8 leaders began their two-day meeting protected by Canada's biggest-ever security detail.
As many as 800 demonstrators wound their way throughout Calgary's downtown core chanting, "G8, it sucks! It's all about big bucks!" in a protest that snarled rush hour traffic.
"The message today is that it won't be business as usual until we have governance that reflects the world's people," demonstrator Joel Duff said as the group assembled at a park east of downtown just after dawn.
Activists are angry that the G8 leaders will be making decisions about key issues such as development, trade and the economy without input from ordinary people.
Commuters, many of whom were aware the protest was planned, appeared to take it all in stride as they waited in their idling cars. Some companies gave employees the morning off.
"That's fine -- everyone has the right to protest," said Calgarian Bess Alderson, as a wave of demonstrators enveloped her car. "Actually I'm really happy that there are some people who take the time to protest."
POLICE ON BIKES, SOCCER IN THE STREETS
Into the hot afternoon, the Calgary demonstrators played soccer in the streets and staged a mock mass death in a city park as a huge complement of police, many of them on mountain bikes, stayed in the background.
There were no injuries or arrests, although police at one point became the target of some protesters hurling garbage.
"Do we give credit to those people who are here for peaceful purposes? Absolutely we do," said Calgary police Inspector Al Redford. "But we're not complacent about the minority element -- we're ready to respond to that as well."
Some protesters, however, said their peaceful actions only proved that the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on security have been wasted.
In Ottawa, some 1,700 miles (2,700 km) to the east of the sumitt, protesters braved steady rain in a march from Parliament Hill to the U.S. Embassy and back again organized by the "Take the Capital" committee, an umbrella activist group.
"This is not apologetic. This is a confrontation. This resistance is just the beginning," said Amanda Dorter and activist in the protest -- which police estimated drew 4,000 people over the course of the day.
Police attempted to arrest one marcher for violating a court order prohibiting him from street protests, but were swarmed by the crowd. Police ended up releasing the man, but they arrested another person for assaulting an officer.
Police said one officer was slightly injured when he was pulled from his bycycle. Four police cars were also damaged during an incident in which protesters occupied a residence.
In Vancouver, turnout for an anti-G8 demonstration was smaller than organizers had predicted. About 100 mostly young demonstrators staged a noisy march to the U.S. consulate.
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